1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to food extenders and their manufacture and more particularly is directed towards a neutral flavored peanut paste that is especially useful as an extender to food products especially chocolate and to the method of manufacturing the paste. The paste also provides means for lowering the viscosity of the chocolate and other food products.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Becuse of the widespread use and popularity of chocolate for a variety of different candies and bakery products, its cost as well as the price of the end food product have experienced sharp increases in recent years. Despite the long use of chocolate and considerable research into its preparation, there still exists a number of problems associated with some chocolate products. For example, many chocolate-based candies have a relatively short shelf life. Also, chocolate coated candy products often times will develop a surface bloom which detracts form the consumer appeal of the candy product. Other problems relate to the manufacture of the candy wherein very precise control must be maintained over the temperature of the chocolate which is used to enrobe the candy to present over tempering of the candy.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide improvements in chocolate-containing food products. Another object of this invention is to provide a low cost, neutral flavored extender for use in chocolate. A further object of this invention is to provide an extender for chocolate adapted to improve the shelf life and other characteristics of the chocolate in order to produce an improved food product. Yet another object of this invention is to provide a novel method for producing a neutral flavored peanut paste for use as a food extender for various food products especially to chocolate.